


only yesterday was the time of our lives

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Series: Learning Normal, Finding Home [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Spoilers for House of Hades, all grown up, there's a child involved and Nico's in college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-13
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-29 07:51:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1002857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico spends his spring break with the Jacksons (Percy, Annabeth, and 5-month-old Marina).</p>
            </blockquote>





	only yesterday was the time of our lives

After the Giant War, Annabeth and Reyna led talks to smooth everything over between the two camps. From that point on,  _any_  demigod could attend school in New Rome if they so desired.

Percy and Annabeth did.

After that, they moved back to New York.

They were married on Half-Blood Hill the year they turned 23.

Marina Jackson was born a little over a year later.

Percy was dozing on the couch when he heard someone knocking insistently at the apartment door. He checked to make sure that Mari was still asleep before scooping her up and answering the door.

“Hey, Perce,” Nico greeted. He was standing in the doorway with a duffle bag over his shoulder.

“Nico!” replied Percy. “I thought you were in New Rome.”

“Spring Break,” Nico answered. “I IM-ed you about it two weeks ago, you said I could visit.”

“Oh, uh, right,” Percy said. “Sorry, I’ve been kind of distracted. Baby.”

Nico nodded, eyes trained on the tiny person in Percy’s arms. “Yeah. I see that. She’s getting big.”

“No kidding.” Percy stepped out of the doorway. “Come on in. Sorry about the mess.”

Nico strolled into the living room and dropped his duffle unceremoniously on the floor next to the couch. “Hey, it’s no problem. My place is worse, and I don’t even have living with a 5-month-old as an excuse.”

Percy chuckled. “How’s that working out, anyway? The living with the boyfriend thing?”

“Not great,” said Nico. “He moved out. We split up.”

“Another one?” Percy groaned. “C’mon, Nico, are you even making an effort anymore?”

“Not really, no,” answered Nico, shrugging. “Don’t see the point. I’m perfectly capable of living on my own.”

Percy frowned. “I just don’t like that you’re on your own all the time.”

“I have survived this long without constant companionship, I’ll live.”

Percy opened his mouth to comment, but Marina chose that moment to wake up and start fussing, which was a compete and immediate distraction. Nico watched from the other end of the couch, an expression Percy couldn’t place on his face. Once Percy calmed her down, Marina stared over at him.

“D’you want to hold her? I know Annabeth showed you how last time you visited,” Percy offered.

“I probably shouldn’t,” Nico replied, shaking his head.

“You’re not going to hurt her.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You’re not going to do anything wrong on  _purpose_ , I know that. And honestly it’s pretty hard to screw up when you’re just sitting on a couch.”

“Fine.”

Percy scooted across the couch so that he and Nico were sitting right up next to each other and then settled Marina in his friend’s arms. She cooed happily.

“See, she likes you!” Percy exclaimed.

“She’s not a  _puppy_ ,” said Nico, “and anyway, she doesn’t know me very well. She’ll have plenty of time to develop a distaste.”

“Not in my house she will not!”

The front door opened again, this time revealing Annabeth in her work clothes. “I’m home!”

“Hey, hon! Nico’s here,” Percy called over his shoulder. “Nico, say hi.”

“Hi Annabeth,” Nico said without looking up from his apparent staring contest with the miniature human he was holding.

“You gave him the baby, didn’t you? He sounds hypnotised,” Annabeth commented. She walked into the living room, gave Percy a kiss and touched the baby’s head. “Niiico. Nico?”

Nico looked up. “Hey. Percy forgot I was coming.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t,” replied Annabeth. She kissed the top of his head. “It’s been on the calendar in the kitchen since you called.”

Nico shot Percy a Look. Percy just shrugged.

The rest of Nico’s stay passed more or less the same way.

He spent his days with either Percy or Annabeth (they worked alternating days because they didn’t want to leave Marina with a nanny or babysitter during the day yet, even though Sally had offered a hundred times) and Marina, and evenings with all three. On Sunday night, Percy and Annabeth dragged Nico to dinner at Paul and Sally’s.

“You look like you haven’t been eating properly again,” Sally chided. “I know for a  _fact_  that you have access to a grocery store.”

“I  _do_ ,” Nico said. “I just sometimes forget to go out and buy food for the week.” He shrugged. “Last boyfriend liked to cook. I… don’t.”

Sally frowned disapprovingly and made sure that he ate second helpings of everything.

Nico came and visited Percy at the aquarium one day before he left. He trailed Percy around and watched him work, and if they weren’t both in their twenties and a good bit taller, it would’ve felt just like old times.

“Hey, Perce, did you ever learn to surf?” he asked after a while.

Percy grinned. “Yeah, yeah I did. I am remarkably  _not good_. Controlling water can only get you so far. There’s balance involved.”

Nico laughed like Percy was pretty sure he’d never heard him laugh before, and had to stand there catching his breath for a full minute before they could carry on their conversation.

On Nico’s last day in New York, he spent the afternoon in the living room with Percy.

He laid on his back on the couch with Marina sleeping on his chest, her tiny thumb in her tiny mouth. “I’m gonna miss this,” he mumbled sleepily.

“You can visit whenever you want, man,” Percy said. “Any time you’ve got the time.”

“Thanks,” replied Nico.

“So what’s up next for you?” asked Percy.

Nico probably would have shrugged if he’d been sitting up. “Couple more months of school, then back to traveling for summer. Might go back to picking up mortals on weekends. Relationships with demigods… too much work. I can’t handle it.”

“Why’s that?” Percy prompts, suppressing a very out of place  _I never had a problem with it_.

Nico looked over at Percy, looking sad. “You don’t actually want me to answer that, Perce.”

Percy frowned. They’d had this conversation before, sure. After the first couple of break-ups, Percy had pressed until Nico had had a breakdown on this very couch (at the time situated in Percy and Jason’s shared apartment) and snapped  _They’re not_ you _, okay? I’m still not over you. I probably never will be. Now leave me alone!_

Nico hadn’t spoken to him for a while after that, but things were better for them now. Percy really didn’t want to revisit that time, though.

“No, I know why,” he muttered. “Still, though?”

Nico shot him another Look, and Percy wisely let the subject drop.

Nico dozed off not much later. If Percy perhaps took a photo of the son of Hades and the baby asleep on the couch in the mid-afternoon light, he certainly didn’t  _tell_  Nico about it. Although – not that he’d actually  _taken_  the hypothetical photo of course – he did have it framed and put it on the bookshelf.

Percy woke Nico when Annabeth came home so that he could say good-bye.

She pulled him into a hug, which he only resisted a little bit (their friendship had improved by leaps and bounds after they realised that they could vent to each other about how idiotic their Seaweed Brain was back when they were teenagers). “You are always welcome here, Nico,” she said.

Nico kissed Annabeth’s cheek. “I know. And I’ll be back.”

Percy handed the baby off to Annabeth and gave Nico the bone-crushingest bear hug he could manage. “See you around, kid.”

**Author's Note:**

> Universe recap: Reyna and Annabeth are totally still best friends, Jason and Percy shared an apartment in college because Annabeth's dad didn't want her living with Percy until they were married, Nico can't hold down a relationship or cook.  
> Maybe someday I'll add to this particular universe, but given how jump-around-ey and disconnected all of the shorts have been this far I wouldn't hold out Too Much hope of an extension any time soon.


End file.
